Thursday, 11 October 2012

Who are the CBA and Archaeology Scotland?

Before I go into what I will be doing here, it's probably a good idea to explain who the CBA and Archaeology Scotland are and what they do!

Council for British Archaeology

The CBA is an educational charity, their aim is to involve people throughout the UK in archaeology in order to appreciate and protect the historical environment. They have an amazing magazine (which had a 6 page spread on the Ardnamurchan Viking Boat Burial!), that provides information on important and interesting projects/discussions within archaeology.

Another extremely important project from the CBA is their Young Arhcaeologists Club (YAC). The idea behind YAC is to get children from the age of 8 -17 involved and inspired by archaeology. These sessions are quite hands on which is usually the best kind of learning environment for children in my opinon. When I was younger I found my best learning experiences were those in which I could get my hands on what we were learning about!

Archaeology Scotland

Archaeology Scotland is also a charity which has a focus on community archaeology in Scotland. It is a membership organisation working to protect the heritage of Scotland for its people. They do this through education, promotion and support. The website breaks each aspect down:

Promotion: of the conservation, management, understanding and enjoyment of, and access to, Scotland's archaeological heritage...also campaign for the better care of the nations' archaeological heritage...with partners at the CBA.

Support: through the provision of advice, guidance, resources and information relating to archaeology in Scotland...the Adopt-a-Monument programme supports local groups to conserve and interpret sites that are important to them."

By using archaeology as tool in their outreach programmes, Adopt-a-Monument are able to help marginalised groups which will hopefully give them confidence, better aspirations and a stronger sense of being in the community. It is the Adopt-a-Monument team I will be working with over the next 6 months and I am looking forward to sharing those experiences with you in more detail.

So...

Both of these charitable organisations are important within archaeology. They are both concerned with getting people involved; they both aim to protect heritage for the people of today and future generations and they both educate the public on their historic environment.

Check out their websites, facebook pages and twitter accounts to get more information on what they are about, even better, become a member to get full benefits and support the work they both do (all links below). I have been following what they do since the start of my degree and can recommend you do the same as you will find out loads of useful information along with the fantastic projects they are both connected with!